Cynz Travel Blog

All of these years, we have come to the Smoky Mountains to enjoy hiking, Clingman's Dome,  Cades Cove and all that downtown Gatlinburg has to offer. I was looking at the map of Gatlinburg to see what was new and I noticed Roaring Fork Road.  It said something about a motor nature trail. So we decided we'd try it. Boy, did we find a jewel! It is a one way loop that has several pull offs with old cabins, beautiful streams and trails. We decided to find the Grotto Falls trail. Didn't look too bad...only 1 1/2 miles to the falls. Right?? The drive on the loop was so serene under a gorgeous canopy of trees. The trail to Grotto Falls was really beautiful and pretty much straight uphill! The trail was rocky, with small streams cutting across our path and several broken limbs that looked petrified.  The humidity was horrible, but the hike was great! We saw rain in the distance and was worried it would catch up with us! We had a wonderf

It's a good thing that I like people because Gatlinburg was crowded! We walked around downtown today and did some shopping.  I went to my favorite silver jewelry store, The Silver Tree. Curtis stopped at a few Moonshine bars (there are a bunch of them) to have a sample. I rode the Sky Lift without my husband.  That was fun and the views were great!

I love the Smoky Mountains!  It is always so beautiful and a great place to bring the motorcycle to enjoy the scenery!  Here we are on big red...our Goldwing...entering the park.  We drove straight up to Clingman's Dome. It was a little chilly, but the 1/2 mile hike uphill at probably 30 degree incline got rid of any cold we may have felt. There were so many motorcycle riders!  I took a few panoramic pictures from the top of Clingman's Dome.  It shows why this area is called Smoky Mountains. This is the ramp to go up to the platform.  My husband decided he wouldn't join me. He's in the white shirt on the ramp.

I'm back!  We have had a very busy summer.  I'm still not sure if I'm recovered from our 2 week incredible West Fest vacation.  My husband and I have decided to take advantage of this Labor Day weekend and go to the Smokies with our Raptor camper and our Goldwing motorcycle.  I'm very excited.  The colors should be beautiful and riding through the mountains on the motorcycle will be a great way to celebrate fall and Labor Day! We got a nice spot by the creek! We are at the Twin Creek RV resort in Gatlinburg. So far we are very happy with the place.